It would be interesting how would you rate a stock iPad vs a stock NC ;-) ... that's much more fair and should give a user an idea of what they get out of the box.

I pretty much did. Even though iBooks wasn't installed, it is free and an Apple app so it is essentially a stock app.

I think you Android fanboys and fangirls are so wrapped up in your hatred of Apple and Microsoft that you can't see the forest for the trees. You folks keep harping on how evil Apple and Microsoft are and how open Android is. That is total BS. Android is not open source, it is the property of Google which is just as big and evil as any other other huge technology company, but not as talented as they are babies compared to the more than quarter of a century experience of Apple and Microsoft. I suspect that those who woo Google will one day open their eyes and realize the ugly monster they are lying beside, and then they will try to gnaw off their own arm to escape the horror.